'Devil's Knot' Trailer: Reese Witherspoon and the West Memphis Three

The West Memphis Three case has already been covered pretty thoroughly in four well-received documentaries, but a new trailer for Devil's Knot gives us a sense of how director Atom Egoyan is going to depict a fictionalized version of the notorious case.

The trailer rehashes a lot of what we know about the story—three boys are murdered, and devil worship is cited when three teenagers are blamed from the crime. The film's focus seems to be on Pam Hobbs (played by Reese Witherspoon), whose son was one of the victims, and private investigator Ron Lax (Colin Firth), who doesn't think the case against the teens adds up.

This trailer comes just a year after the release of the last two documentaries on the subject: West of Memphis and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, the conclusion to a series of HBO films. So what new does Egoyan's film bring to the story? According to some critics, not much. Scott Foundas of Varietywrote, following the film's Toronto International Film Festival premiere, that it "comes across as a flat, ponderous proposition, transforming a fascinating tale of small-town prejudice and miscarried justice into a surprisingly staid courtroom drama." Still, The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore called it "compelling."

News reports are focusing on the Germanwings pilot's possible depression, following a familiar script in the wake of mass killings. But the evidence shows violence is extremely rare among the mentally ill.